Hakeem Olajuwon might be the greatest player to ever do it for the Houston Rockets. That being said, lost in history, was his stints with teams outside the great state of Texas.
The last twenty years in the NBA gave birth to numerous rivalries. But among the many feuds, the one between LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers and the Western Conference’s Golden State Warriors appear to be still active and from the looks of it, both clubs appear set for another collision course for the fourth straight year.
The Houston Rockets could avert that, of course.
The lone Texas team still in the playoffs and the current number one seed (with arguably the third best odds of winning the championship), the Rockets are currently in the semis and holding a commanding two games to one lead over the Utah Jazz – a once heated rival more than twenty years ago.
The best player on that team was Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon, who steered the Rockets to a pair of titles two seasons prior (in the Michael Jordan-less NBA of the mid-90s) beating the Salt Lake City-based club along the way. The Jazz bounced back in the 1996-97 and 1997-98 NBA Playoffs however, exacting some measure of revenge by trouncing them in two straight years, one of which included an iconic game winner by Jazz guard John Stockton.
The Nigerian-American now works behind the scenes as a freelance player developmental coach teaching others his patented low post moves (which includes the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and heir apparent Yao Ming) as well as making sporadic appearances representing his former team, especially in this series which he shares history with.
Olajuwon in fact, can be seen taking practice shots in Vivint Smart Home Arena and showing that the old man still has it.
The Dream reliving some of the good ol’ days in Utah: pic.twitter.com/ctXLPhhFnT
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) May 5, 2018
